


The White Wolf's Birthday

by Introvertatheart



Series: The White Wolf's New Life [18]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Bucky's birthday, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-09
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29950155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Introvertatheart/pseuds/Introvertatheart
Summary: It's finally that time of the year again and Steve is determined to make Bucky's fourth birthday better than last year.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Series: The White Wolf's New Life [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952947
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	1. March 9th

Steve didn't consider himself an overachiever. Tony was the overachiever in the group but when it came to Bucky, things had to be big but not big enough to overload his senses. Bucky's third birthday was good, but his fourth birthday had to be better. The only thing Steve was worried about is if Tony overdid something that would cause Bucky to have a sensory overload. But he was hoping Sam and Natasha were doing their part in keeping Tony in check.

"Mine!" Steve heard Bucky yell. He quickly left his room and went in Bucky's room. Chase had Lamby and Bucky was not happy. To Chase, it looked like a game. To Bucky, he was hurting his cherished animal.

"Bucky, stop pulling."

"Mine!"

"I know but you are making this is a game to him. Say out."

"Out." Chase let go of Lamby. Bucky took his beloved Lamby and sat on the bed.

"Can I see if she is okay?" Steve asked. Bucky whined then gave him Lamby. Lamby looked unharmed besides a little slobber. "She's alright, listen when Chase takes something that you don't want him to play with just say out."

"Meanie."

"He's not a meanie, he just wanted to play." Steve rubbed his back. Chase and Bucky had a complicated relationship when it came to the stuffed animals. Chase loved to grab his animals, that aggravated Bucky. He never had a tantrum, it just made him mad. "Hey, you're birthday is tomorrow."

"Yeah."

"So you get to have a Bucky day before your birthday. What do you want to do?" Bucky shrugged. "I think you can be spoiled today. Today we're just going to do what Bucky wants. What does Bucky want to do, does he want to go shopping or does he want to stay home?"

"Bucky swim."

"Friday, what's the temperature in the pool?"

" _Seventy-two_."

"Turn the heater on for at least an hour, by then it should be up by three degrees so you're comfortable. Can you wait?" Bucky nodded. "Do you mind if Uncle Sam and mommy come over and spend the day with us?"

"Yeah." Bucky smiled.

"Okay, let's go fix a snack and by the time you finish the pool should be heated. What do you want to eat?"

"Candy."

"You know the rule. How about Oreos?"

"Yeah. Yeah." Bucky got up and went downstairs. Steve smiled and followed him downstairs. Steve got Bucky his Oreos and they sat in the living room watching a movie.

"Can I have a cookie?" Steve asked.

"No." Bucky said quickly. Steve smiled knowing that was his answer but he was surprised to see Bucky break one in half and give it to him.

"Thank you." After Bucky finished his snack, Steve got him in his swim clothes. Once Bucky was dressed, he immediately went outside. Steve took the cover off of the pool and made sure nothing made it's way in there. Once he was sure, Bucky sat on the pool steps.

Steve could have sworn Bucky had the biggest smile on his face. He was even doing his happy hand flapping. Then he heard a whine. "You can get in Harley." Harley got in the pool. Chase, on the other hand, was not a water dog. He looked like he wanted to go in because Harley was in there but he didn't want to. "I'm going to get some burgers and hot dogs so we can grill out here. Do you want something, Buck?"

"Juice."

"Okay." Steve turned on the gas grill then went inside. He got the hamburger patties, hot dogs and Bucky's juice. He went back outside, Bucky and Harley was still enjoying themself in the pool. Chase found a stick to busy himself with. Steve gave Bucky his juice then started on the food.

" _Mr. Rogers, Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Wilson have arrived._ "

"Okay, unlock the door when they get down here." Steve continued to cook while Bucky continued to stim in the water.

Soon, he heard the front door open then he saw Sam and Nat come from the back door.

"Hey boys." Nat said. The dogs began barking, Bucky smiled then got out the pool.

"Mommy."

"Hey Sam asked for hugs first."

"Bird." Bucky hugged Sam causing him to be soaking wet.

"Hey kid. I'm going to get you back for this, Nat." Sam patted Bucky's wet hair. Bucky got Nat's hand and pulled her to the pool.

"Bucky, I don't have swim clothes." Nat smiled sadly at him. Bucky flapped his hands then got back in the pool. "Spoiling him?"

"All day. Just to prevent any birthday blues."

"Good call. Now have you told him why we are really here?" Sam asked.

"No and if I did, he's going to freak out."

"He's freaked out over a hair cut?" Nat asked.

"I shouldn't say freak out but he'll fight me if I bring it up, then he'll freak out if I bring scissors near him."

"And you want us to help you restrain him?"

"Or something like that, he just needs a good conditioning and a trim."

"Okay, let's try not to make it a struggle. We don't want to stress him out, it's probably scary to see scissors that close."

"Alright, let's just keep everything calm. Nice little grilling to keep things normal."

"Daddy?" Bucky whined.

"Yeah?" Steve asked. Bucky signed come here.

"I think he wants you to swim with him." Nat smiled.

"Go spend time with him. I'll finish this." Sam got up and took over the food. Steve went to the pool and sat next to Bucky on the outside of the pool.

"Hey sweetheart."

"Daddy swim." Steve already knew this was going to happen so he already his swim trunks on. He got in the pool, Bucky went to him and hugged him.

"You only want me here for pressure."

"Huggies."

"I love your huggies anyway." Steve scratched Bucky's hair, they had an hour and 45 minutes before Bucky needed a nap.

After they sat around the pool for twenty minutes and ate burgers while the dogs ate the raw hot dogs.

"Bucky birthday."

"Tomorrow sweetheart. You'll have the best day ever." Nat rubbed his head. Bucky smiled and flapped his hands. "And someone special is going to be there."

"Chase?" The dog's ear perked up.

"We'll see." Bucky smiled again then got up making his way to pool.

"Bucky, we're going inside. It's almost time for a nap." Steve said. Bucky shook his head. Steve was about to get up but Nat stopped.

"Don't chase him, he won't take it seriously. Plus he just ate."

"Right. Bucky, let's go inside and have cookies." That stopped him from going in the pool. Steve, Nat and Sam stood up and went inside. "We have to start on his hair."

"You go get a few treats for him and we'll go upstairs." Nat said, getting Bucky's hand and bringing him upstairs.

"I feel a fight coming." Steve frowned.

"Widow seems to know what she is doing. It's just scissors and blades he's afraid of, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then let's just distract him when she does." Steve nodded. They went upstairs to Steve's room. Nat already Bucky in the bath tub. "He can sit in the shower."

"Do I look like I can be in the shower with him?" Nat ran the bath water. Bucky played in the stream while Nat got a cup of water. "Okay, this is going over your head like the shower." Nat began pouring water on his head. Bucky didn't care. "Good job." Once his hair was wet, Nat put the shampoo plus conditioner on his hair. She scratched his hair, Bucky smiled. "Feel nice?"

"Yeah."

"Well it's not as oily as I thought it would be. Someone must be listening to me." She looked at Steve.

"I am trying."

"Apparently." Nat poured water on Bucky's head to rinse out the shampoo and conditioner. Once she finished, she stopped the water. But Steve noticed something. Bucky's head was twitching.

"Oh no."

"What?" Sam asked.

"Get down." Steve and Sam ducked down, Nat looked at them then noticed a second too late that Bucky started to shake his head getting water all over her.

"I am so sorry Nat." Steve tried not to smile but the look on her face was hilarious.

"Consider that payback for making him hug me earlier." Sam laughed.

"I forgot he does that. Oh well, come out." Bucky got out the tub and dried off. Steve dried off his hair a bit then sat him down on a chair.

"Now the hard part." Steve brushed out Bucky's hair while he ate Oreos. "Do you think you can trim it?"

"The back, yes. But I'm not sure if he's going to want me so close to the front. Let's just see how it goes." Nat took out trimming scissors from her back pocket. She took the ends of his hair then started trimming. Bucky kept moving his head around. "Sweetheart, stay still." Nat finished the back then slowly moved to his shoulders. Bucky heard the cutting noise and flinched. "You're okay." Nat trimmed more, Bucky could see what she was doing in the mirror. He started shaking his head.

"No." Bucky whined.

"It's okay, it'll help your hair look a bit better." Steve rubbed Bucky's hands. Bucky kept flinching everytime Nat snipped close to his face. Bucky whined then brought his hands up to Steve's hair then he began humming.

"He is very expressive." Sam smiled.

"He always has his hands in my hair when he hugs me, I think it's sensory input."

"What is he going to do the day you go back to short? Like when we first met short?" Nat asked.

"I always had a good amount of hair, James more so than me but I don't think I'll go back to any style. I've grown attached to this and the beard."

"You've surprised everyone even Tony for keeping the beard. Alright, sweetheart you're all done for now. Do you like it?" Nat asked, brushing the hair off his shoulders. Bucky looked at himself in the mirror, he didn't notice a change.

"You look great." Steve smiled. Nat didn't cut straight across, that would look weird. She just took off the split ends. Then Bucky yawned. "Alright nap time."

"Stay here."

"You cannot stay in here."

"Mommy, Sam stay here."

"Oh you want mommy and Sam to stay?" Steve asked, Bucky nodded. "Yeah, they'll be here when you wake up." Bucky went in his room. "Will you be okay watching him?"

"Why ask that question when you know we can handle him?" Nat smiled.

"Sorry. I shouldn't be gone too long."

"Steve, take as long as you need to. If he wakes up and you're not here we'll go sit with him by the pool."

"Okay." Steve got his keys and left. It felt weird to not have anyone with him. But he just needed to go to one place.

Back at home, Sam was playing with Chase while Nat watched tv.

"When do you think we should tell Steve that the government has been lingering around the facility?" Sam asked.

"Stark said he would tell them to leave for the day or stay on integration level. He even said he'll have Friday block their access to the main floor. If Steve even see them at his party, he'll lose it. We'll make sure Bucky's day is still about Bucky." Then they heard whining and footsteps.

"Speak of the devil." Bucky came downstairs, he was covering his eyes. "You okay, kid? You're usually down for an hour. It hasn't been fifteen minutes." Bucky whined and sat on the couch. He laid on Nat's lap then went still.

"Sweetheart?" Nat touched his head, Bucky was asleep. "That's weird. Was he sleep walking?" Nat asked. Sam shrugged. Bucky was really asleep like nothing happened.

After another hour, Steve came back to find Bucky, still asleep. He was a little surprised to see Bucky on the couch but it has happened before. What did surprise him was that they told him that Bucky looked to be sleep walking.

"Are you sure it looks like sleep walking? He's walked down here before."

"Yeah, we figured but this was weird." Sam sat next to Nat. Steve went in the kitchen and opened the Oreos container. That caused Bucky to wake up.

"Cookie." Bucky woke up and rubbed his eyes.

"Wow. Food driven." Sam smiled.

"This is why you stay upstairs during nap time. Ask nicely." Steve said.

"Cookie please?"

"Good job." Steve fixed a small bowl for him. He gave a few to Nat and Sam with Bucky's permission. They sat around and laughed until Steve remembered they had one more thing with Bucky. "Hey, let's go upstairs to do something."

"Bucky here." Bucky stayed on the couch. Steve picked him up, Bucky whined and pointed to his bowl with his cookies. Sam got his bowl and they all went back in Steve's bathroom.

"Okay, I've had to do this when he's half asleep. But I don't want to keep doing that, I want him to be okay with me doing this."

"Doing?" Bucky asked.

"It's called shaving. You don't know that I do this because you're half asleep but I want to try to do this when you are awake. Stay calm." Steve pulled out the razor and shaving cream. "Alright, look at this, don't touch." Bucky has played with Steve's shaving cream before but the razor, he hasn't seen. Bucky looked at the razor then the blades caught his attention.

"Hurt."

"It won't hurt you, I promise. I won't let it hurt you. Let's wash your face first." Steve wet a towel, Bucky nipped at the towel. "Okay, I'm going to put this on." He put the cream on his face. Bucky was shaking his head. Luckily, Steve had steady hands. Bucky caught a glint of the blades and pushed Steve's hand away.

"This might not work." Nat said.

"It can but like you said you've done this when he's half asleep. We have to treat this like it's his first time." Sam said.

"Right and the blades probably feel weird on his face." Steve suddenly had an idea. He got another razor and took out the blades. "Do you want to hold it?" Bucky took the item and tried to bend it. Not for fidgeting. So he put it in his mouth, it wasn't chewable but it did have a rubber grip that he liked. "Is that okay?" Bucky nodded. "Okay, it goes on your face like this and it comes off like this and it takes off your hair." Bucky frowned but continued to chew. Steve continued to shave his face while closely monitoring Bucky's reactions. He seemed okay but wary. "Good job, Buck." Steve smiled. Nat and Sam clapped, Bucky was more focused on chewing. Steve wiped of the remains of the foam off then he noticed Bucky's chin was wet. He got a dry towel and wiped his mouth, it kept coming. "Oh you're drooling again. You tend to drool more when you're chewing on something." He wasn't going to do an alcohol pat on Bucky, that was recipe for triggering a meltdown. "Can I have that back and you can find your chewy?" Bucky gave him the gnawed up razor then went somewhere.

"He did surprisingly well." Sam smiled. "Just needs something to keep his other senses busy."

"Yeah."

"Can you believe it, Rogers, you're about to have a four year old." Nat patted his back.

"Yeah, I'm even surprised and he's getting so strong every day. I can't believe it's been two years since I got him."

"And he's made lasting impression on everyone he's met."

"Is Rhodey going to be there?"

"We have no idea, we offered but we haven't heard back. You don't think Bucky will attack him do you?"

"He'll growl at him that's for sure. But attacking maybe more of a Winter problem. But if Rhodey keeps his mouth shut then Bucky will stay away from him."

"Everyone will be there. Including Loki who has a service dog."

"Loki has a service dog?"

"Well it's a test run to see if he will step up to the plate and take care of it. But he's got a golden retriever named Sassy but Thor said if everything goes well with them then Loki will rename her."

"He's not taking that dog to Asgard is he?"

"He is, the atmosphere is breathable so if he chooses to stay to on Asgard he can. They have proof from Jane that the atmosphere is good and Thor said they would be raw feeding her."

"Right, I just don't have a good feeling about this."

"Because it's Loki?"

"Exactly." Steve left the bathroom to look for Bucky. He wasn't on his bed but he did notice the door to his sensory room was open. He went inside to find Bucky laying on his swing. "You okay?" Bucky nodded, he was still drooling a bit. "We're just going to have the hot dogs and burgers for dinner, did you want something else?"

"Cheese."

"Mac and cheese? Okay, do you want to come help or stay here?"

"Bucky help." Bucky got up from his swing. They went downstairs, Nat was warming up the food but he couldn't see Sam.

"Where's Sam?"

"Outside taking a phone call."

"Okay." Steve got the mac and cheese box from the pantry. He got a small pot and warmed up the water.

After the food was warmed up and the mac and cheese done, they sat at the table. Bucky kept smiling and giggling, pulling on Sam's or Steve's arms. Then he tapped Steve's shoulder. "Bucky wants ice cream."

"Ice cream? You've had a lot sweets today bud." Steve said.

"Cake?" Bucky tilted his head.

"How about cookies?"

"Ice cream."

"No."

"Cake."

"No again." Bucky pouted then tapped the table in frustration.

"Hey kid, how about an ice cream cake?" Sam asked. Bucky smiled.

"Sam." Steve frowned but he held a hand up.

"You'll have it and much more tomorrow. But you have to have patience. Deal?"

"Deal." Bucky struggled with that word. "Bucky wants cookies."

"I can do that." Steve smiled and got up. He got Oreos and gave four to Bucky. Bucky got up and left the kitchen. He knew he wasn't allowed to leave the kitchen with food. "Bucky."

"No."

"He's a quick one." Sam laughed.

"I wonder where he get that from." Nat raised an eyebrow. Steve resisted the urge to roll his eyes, he looked in the living room to see Bucky was on his chair nibbling on his cookies.

Nat and Sam help Steve clean up. Bucky would usually help but Steve excused him for today.

"Alright, we need to go to make sure everything is okay for tomorrow." Nat said.

"Hopefully no one goes overboard with gifts." Steve rubbed his face.

"True. Bye sweetheart." Nat said. Bucky waved bye to her and Sam.

"Buck, it's almost bed time." Steve said turning off the kitchen lights. Bucky was focused on the tv, a sing-a-long movie was playing. Steve wasn't sure if he has seen this movie before but Bucky was interested in it. "Friday, what is this movie?"

" _Moana._ "

"Oh. Seems interesting but it's time for bed."

"No." The movie was only fifteen minutes in and it was probably an hour and some minutes movie. Bucky needed to be in bed in twenty minutes.

"Buck, we can watch it when you get up in the morning. We need to go to bed."

"No." Steve sighed and turned off the tv. Bucky stared at him then huffed a sigh.

"We will watch it in the morning. Let's go to bed." Bucky got up, stomping his feet on the way upstairs. Steve followed him upstairs to his bathroom. Bucky was standing by the shower. Steve turned on the shower then let Bucky sit in there. He went to get his pajamas when he got back to the bathroom, Bucky was chewing on his wrist. "You okay?"

Bucky nodded. "Dog bath."

"We can give the dogs a bath after your birthday. Chase is shedding furballs. Harley is shedding too but not as bad." Steve had the means of grooming a short haired dog with low shedding but not a dog shedding furballs. Chase may need a professional groomer for his coat. "You all done?" Bucky nodded. Steve dried him off, Bucky took his medicine. Steve brushed his hair while they talked. They went Bucky's room Steve tucked him in then laid next to him.

"Tomorrow is your big day, are you excited?"

"Yeah."

"I can't believe you're about to be four. You've grown so much." Bucky smiled then chewed on his wrist. Steve put his hand down then rubbed his wrist. Bucky whined then began humming.

"Want cake."

Steve chuckled. "Tomorrow sweetheart, tomorrow." Bucky patted Steve's chest then yawned. "Now you're tired. Get some sleep, you'll need all your energy tomorrow." Steve kissed his head then closed the door. Steve was actually excited about tomorrow.

All of Bucky's friends will be there. He'll pretty much be more spoiled than today. The only thing that definite to happen was a tantrum because Bucky would become possessive, aggressive or obsessed with stuff he wants. Steve can handle that and calm him down. It was the matters of a meltdown that worried him. Bucky didn't like when we people left last year but back then he didn't understand why. This year seemed promising with no meltdowns unless Stark did something he shouldn't have or life just wanted Bucky to not have a peaceful birthday. But he trusted that Nat and Sam would tell him what would trigger him.

Steve sighed as he sat in bed. "He's going to have the best day ever tomorrow."


	2. March 10th

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bucky's big birthday party.

Steve woke up from a good memory dream early today. He smiled as he realized what day it was. Bucky's birthday. It would make sense that he had a memory about celebrating Bucky's first birthday as friends. It was a special time that year. Speaking of time, he looked at the time on his phone. Almost six. Bucky would be up in a few minutes.

He got up and went in Bucky's room. He was laying facedown on his pillows, lightly snoring compared to Harley. Steve smiled and closed his door. He went downstairs and cooked Bucky's favorite breakfast, eggs and rice with some fruit on the side. He brought the food upstairs in his room then went to get Bucky. He was already waking up a bit.

"Hey, sweetheart." Steve said, rubbing his back. Bucky yawned then sat up, his hair all over the place. "Happy birthday."

"Bucky birthday?"

"Yeah, it's your birthday. Let's go eat breakfast, we'll eat in my room." Steve picked him up, Bucky was border line about to go back to sleep. This always happens; he wakes up, goes to Steve's room then goes back to sleep for an hour.

They went to Steve's room. Steve laid Bucky on the bed, Bucky smelled his favorite food then smiled.

"Do you want to finish watching Moana?" Bucky nodded. Friday started the movie from where he left off as they ate.

As they finished the movie and laid around, Steve had a thought about letting Bucky take a nap before they left but Bucky was already too excited about the party to sleep. So it looks at some point Bucky might have a tired tantrum, sleep some point during the party or he might keep himself up until he passes out once they get back home.

"Buck, are you dressed?" Steve went in Bucky's room. Bucky was sitting on his bed, fidgeting with newspapers. He wasn't dressed. "Bud, I laid out your clothes for you what is the problem?" Bucky shook his head. "Let's get dressed, they're waiting for us." Bucky got dressed in a black shirt that said Birthday King under a black and blue flannel jacket and black jeans with his black boots. "You look handsome, let's go." They made their way downstairs to the truck. Steve allowed Chase to come with them so he can become more familiar with the Avengers.

Once they got on the road, Bucky was so excited that he couldn't stop smiling and laughing. "Happy. Happy." Bucky flapped his hands. Steve smiled at him as they pulled into the facility.

" _Main floor, Captain. And happy birthday Bucky._ " Friday said as they went in the elevator. Bucky smiled again then tapped the presents Steve was holding.

"You have to wait. Are you ready?" Bucky nodded then the elevator door opened.

"Happy birthday!" Everyone yelled. Bucky flinched but that was quickly replaced with the biggest smile.

"You're four, oh my gosh." Nat said kissing both his cheeks red. Bucky looked around, he saw the Paw Patrol characters but there was also dinosaurs.

"Do you like it? Steve told us to mix it up a bit." Tony questioned. Bucky nodded. "Good, it took five calls to find nice looking dinosaurs." Bucky flapped his hands again then noticed someone.

"Do you see them?" Steve smiled.

"Bucky?" Asked a familiar voice belonging to Okoye. Bucky quickly hugged her. "I've missed you White Wolf."

"Missed you."

"Don't forget about us." Shuri said coming along with T'Challa. Bucky hugged them then started to lean his weight down. "What are you doing?"

"He wants you to hold him. Buck, they can't hold you." Steve put Bucky on his feet. Bucky got Okoye's hand and brought her to the couch. "Bucky there are other people here like Thor, Peter and Scott." Bucky looked at them. He wanted to play with them but he wanted to stay with Okoye.

"Stay, please?" Bucky asked.

"I will stay right here." Okoye rubbed his hand. Bucky smiled then got up. He went to Scott and Peter, though he did bite Scott for no reason.

"Where is Rumlow, Loki, Clint and his family?" Steve asked.

"Loki asked Rumlow to help him with something. Clint's whole family got a bad cold. So they'll mail the present to you." Nat said. Steve nodded.

After Bucky said hi to everyone, he went on a hunt. Everything was relatively okay but he could not resist the smell of something sweet. He was promised cake and he did not smell said cake.

Steve noticed he was lingering around the kitchen. Bucky was definitely looking for food. Specifically cake. "Where's the sweets?" Steve whispered.

"Conference room. If he can smell it from here, then we're in trouble." Nat smiled. Bucky was having a tough time locating any sweets. Too many smells that weren't sweet. Now he was a little frustrated. Bucky began head tossing and whining.

"Buck, come here." Steve said. Bucky looked at him then opened a cabient. He opened it and found a bag of trail mix, not his favorite but it had m&m's. "What did you find?"

"Have, please?"

"Whose is it?"

"Those would be Sam's." Nat said.

"Go ask Sam if you can have some." Bucky took the bag and went to find Sam.

"Have, please?"

"You can have some. Thanks for asking." Bucky went back to Steve who poured him a small bowl. Bucky sat on the couch next to Okoye, picking around the nuts.

"Alright everyone, I was going to ask if the birthday boy wanted to start his day off with a few games but he already seems preoccupied." Tony said. Bucky looked at him as he chewed on a m&m. "So because we don't want anything to go to waste, the adults will play. So first, egg and spoon race." Tony got two cartons of eggs.

"I don't know how to play." Steve said.

"All you do is balance this egg on a spoon, you race walk to the cones turn around then give the next person in line the egg. All without dropping the egg, if you do then you back and get another." Tony explained. Steve somewhat understood that. "Alright, there are fifteen people at the party. Loki and Rumlow are out so there are thirteen here. So it's uneven amount of people unless Bucky wants to play."

"I'll sit out. No arguments." Steve said sitting down. Bucky laid his head on Steve's shoulder.

"Alright, let's play. Losing team is on cleaning duty." Pepper said. Team one was Pepper, Scott, Nat, Thor, Pietro, T'Challa and Bruce. Team two was Tony, Peter, Sam, Wanda, Vision, Okoye and Shuri.

Pepper and Tony picked up an egg, placed it on a spoon then began race walking to a cone place near the conference room. It seemed simple until Scott dropped his egg and had to go back to the beginning.

Bucky did not have a care in the world about the game. It was a bit odd because most people would be entirely involved into their birthdays. Bucky just wanted to be with his family. Just having them around made him the happiest person on Earth.

"Thor focus!" Pepper yelled. Steve smiled then rubbed Bucky's head.

"You've ate everything but the peanuts." Bucky looked at him then handed him the bowl. "Thanks." Steve ate the few peanuts Bucky left. Bucky took Steve's hand and put it on his head. Bucky began humming. "You just want attention." He smiled.

"We won." Pepper said. There was eggs all over the floor.

"We would have won if Peter would focus and stop laughing." Tony huffed.

"Ms. Widow kept making me laugh."

"Next game: Twister." Pepper said getting out the giant mat.

"A flexible game, one that half of you will lose." Nat said.

"Oh please. So what's going to happen is girls will play first then the boys will play the final two will play against each other." Tony explained.

"Can Bucky call out the commands?" Nat asked.

"If he wants. Do you want to tell them what to do?" Steve asked. Bucky nodded. Steve picked him up then sat him on the chair.

Tony handed him the command board. "Does he know these colors?"

"Yeah, what are these colors?"

"Blue, yellow, green, red." Bucky said as he pointed to each color. He stared the spin thing then flicked it. It spun around then landed on left foot green.

"Say left foot green."

"Left foot green." Bucky mumbled. Nobody would hear him.

"He'll spin, I'll call it out." Steve said. The game began, the girls went first. Pepper lost first then Wanda. Shuri was struggling a bit while Nat and Okoye were pulling off every move efficiently.

"Okay they could go on forever, it's a tie." Tony said. Nat and Okoye got up and shook hands in truths. It was the boys turn.

Vision didn't want to play, he said he didn't understand the concept of it even though Tony explained it to him twice. As they played, Steve laughed as the guys complained more. Sam took himself out of the game when his right foot was too close to Tony's butt. Scott was laughing during the whole thing and took himself out. Bruce also forfeited. Tony was trying very hard but he wasn't the most flexible person so he was out. That left Thor, Peter and T'Challa. Thor was doing good because he was so tall and didn't have problems with reaching the items. Peter and T'Challa were tangled up until Thor leaned most of his weight on them causing them to fall.

"Yes, I am the champion of Twister." Thor cheered.

"We all know Bucky would have won if he played." Sam said looking at Bucky who was looking rather out of it. They decided against letting the winning girls play against Thor because it was sort of unfair that he took up a majority of the mat.

"Alright, everyone can take a breather and eat food then we'll get into the presents and cake." Tony said.

"Cake." Bucky whined.

"Real food. Sit down, I'll fix your food." Steve said. Bucky sat on the ground, patiently waiting. Steve got Bucky a pizza, fruit and carrot sticks. There was hot dogs, hamburgers and hot wings but Steve factored in that they just had hot dogs and hamburgers and Bucky probably wouldn't be interested in having it again. Plus Bucky has never had anything as hot as hot wings.

As they ate, Bucky looked around at people's plates. No one had anything interesting until he spotted Scott's plate. There was something there he hasn't had before and his curiosity was talking to him now. He looked at Steve, Sam and Nat they were all talking, not focused on him. He gave his carrots to the dogs then steadily inched closer to the plate. Once he was in grabbing range, he looked at the weird food. It smelled weird and it burned his nose a bit. But his curiosity was killing him right now. He grabbed the wing and chewed it. Weird, different and burning. Something was burning in his mouth and he didn't like that.

"Owie, owie. Daddy." Bucky whined then began to cry. Steve quickly looked at him, noticed he was crying.

"What happened? What did you do?" Steve asked frantically then noticed Bucky's mouth was covered in hot sauce. "You ate a hot wing. Where did you get it from?" Bucky whined then coughed. "You stole it from someone, drink this." Steve handed Bucky a cup of ice water. Bucky quickly drank the water. "Why did you eat that?"

"Try."

"I'm glad that you are trying new stuff but you don't have the taste for spicy foods, that much I remember. Plus these are extra hot, bud, I don't think these are a good start for a first time try. Are you okay?" Steve asked. Bucky nodded. That was a terrible experience and Bucky hated his curiosity right now.

After every finished, it was time for cake. Everyone stood around the center island in the kitchen as Nat brought out the ice cream cake. A Paw Patrol cake with little dinosaurs. No candles again this year. "Happy birthday to you-" They all sang. Bucky laughed and flapped his hands. Everyone clapped when they were done.

"Hey, can someone else have the first piece?" Tony asked. Bucky growled at him. "Never mind then."

"He was going to get the first piece regardless, here you go sweet boy." Nat said giving him a piece of cake. Bucky took his cake and sat in the corner.

"Does the young one not want to eat with us?" Thor asked.

"He's more of guarding it, he's been waiting on this for a while now. So he's going to take it somewhere where he won't be bothered. Usually I would stop him because of his choking issue but I think he's okay." Steve explained. He knew when sweets came out Bucky acted like a different person. Plus he needed to make sure he didn't go around grabbing other people's cake.

Bucky, of course, finished his first. Now he was hunting again. He learned from last year who ate slowly and who ate quickly. But that still left a bunch of new people who he didn't their patterns. There was three people who he could get cake from. Shuri, Vision and Thor. But he knew once he settled on one, he couldn't go for the other two without being noticed. He looked at the three people's plates, Thor had the most left. That was his target. He got up and walked casually to Thor. He was talking to Shuri, T'Challa and Peter so he was distracted. He reached for the cake until strong hands grabbed him and picked him up.

"I know what you're doing, stop." Steve said. Bucky whined then growled at him. "Bucky, stop." Steve put Bucky on his feet but held him close. Bucky turned to him and growled. Steve held down his arms as Bucky angrily stared him down. Then Bucky bit him and screamed, now everyone was looking at them. "Calm down."

"Is he okay?" Okoye asked.

"When Bucky doesn't get what he wants, he gets upset. Sometimes he screams and cries until he calms down but this is the aggressive side of a tantrum that we rarely see now." Nat explained. "Usually Steve suffers a few bites until Bucky calms down."

"What does he want?" Shuri asked.

"More cake, but him and sugar are like kids in a candy store. It's bad and he gets out of control."

"Buck, look at me." Steve said. Bucky bit his arm again then slightly looked at him. "No more. Not until you calm down and the party is over. Do you understand me?" Bucky growled at him again, Steve was not letting his arms go as Bucky aggressively stared at him. Finally Bucky took a breath. Steve let him go but Bucky reverted the biting onto himself. "Harley hug Bucky." Harley came around the couch and stood on her back legs with her front paws on Bucky's shoulders, forcing his arms down. Bucky took a few deep breaths until Steve could see his aggression starting to die down. "Good job. You okay?" Bucky nodded. Steve scratched Harley's head then helped her off of his shoulders. "Go sit down." Steve said. Bucky sat on the couch and began rocking.

"You alright? It looks like he got you good this time." Bruce asked. Steve looked at his wrist, sure enough there was two bleeding puncture mark.

"I'm fine, I've had worse." Bruce still gave him an antiseptic wipe and two band-aids. Steve sat next to Bucky, who was humming and still rocking.

"So should we move to the next thing?" Tony asked.

"In a few minutes, if we move on he's going to get overstimulated and then we'll have a meltdown. Let's wait." Steve said. Tony nodded. They've managed to avoid him having a meltdown so far but the chance of it happening was still too high.

After a few minutes Bucky calmed down enough that Steve wasn't immediately worried for a meltdown. During that time, Rumlow, Loki with golden retriever service dog Sassy and Rhodey showed up. Bucky was happy to see Rumlow and Loki, Rhodey was a different story. When Bucky saw him, Bucky cowered into Steve's side. Steve, Sam and Nat was expecting Bucky to act the complete opposite.

"Alright now that everyone is sort of here. We'll start with presents. Steve." Tony said, motioning to him.

"I think we can start off with the least stimulating presents then work our way up."

"Okay who has the least stimulating gift?" Tony asked.

"I think I do." Rhodey said. He sit his gift near Bucky who stared at him then at the box.

"You can open it." Steve said. Bucky took the box and opened it. It was little cups of something he's seen before but didn't know what it was.

"Is?"

"This is play dough. It's like kinetic sand but firmer. And you have little molds. You'll like it, it'll keep your hands busy. Say thank you."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Steve was going to have monitor Bucky when he was playing with that. No doubt that was going in his mouth once he figured out the texture.

"I'll go next." Peter said, getting a box and handing it to him. Bucky open the box, it was a tube thing filled with water but there was little plastic fish floating. "If you turn it, they move." Bucky turned the tube, then all the fish began to move. Bucky tilted his head then smiled.

"Thank you." Bucky mumbled.

"You're welcome." Peter said. Bucky actually liked this.

"Okay, you have more coming. You can play that with later." Steve said.

"Here you go, sweetheart." Nat said gifting him a weird cloth.

"What is this?" Steve asked.

"This is a pod swing that can go in his sensory room. You can hook it up to the same brackets on the ceiling."

"Swing." Bucky smiled.

"Yeah, he'll love this."

"I guess I'll go." Bruce said handing him a small box. It was a small dog plush. Bucky already had one.

"This one is special because you can heat it or freeze it and it helps with pressure on his hands."

"Oh now that makes sense. Good call."

"I'll go." Rumlow said handing him a small box. It was a flashlight. "At night, you can place these little covers on them and you'll see dinosaurs on the wall." Bucky smiled again, Steve was a little skeptical of that. Bucky was going to chew on one, but it was the point that Bucky will flash the light in his own eyes.

"Me next." Scott said. Bucky unwrapped it, it was an ugly rabbit thing. Bucky wasn't sure how to feel about it.

"Thank you." Bucky mumbled.

"You're welcome, my daughter has the same one." That really didn't help the situation.

"Okay us next. Pietro and I wanted to get you the same thing. Here you go." Pietro gave him the box. Bucky unwrapped and held up a small piano keyboard.

"Is?"

"A piano keyboard. You can probably learn to play it but Nat told us you liked music." Wanda said. Bucky pushed a key and it made a light sound. Bucky liked that.

"Thor and Loki you're next." Tony said. Thor nodded and gave Bucky his small box. Bucky opened the box then it was weird machine.

"Is?"

"This, young one, will project the planets and the stars onto your ceiling. I believe I remember correctly that you like space."

"He does." Steve said. Bucky said thank you then opened Loki's present, a Paw Patrol sub patroller. Bucky smiled then flapped his hand. "You've wanted that for a while. That can go in the pool with you."

"Yes, I was misinformed that the young is not allowed to drink or be near magic, so my orginal present was not acceptable. That is why we were gone." Loki said.

"Thank you for changing it." Steve said.

"Open, please?" Bucky asked.

"When we get home." Steve said taking it from him and putting it in the pile.

"Okay, Vision?" Tony said.

"Um, I was uncertain about what to give. Mr. Stark told me I can't go wrong with money." Vision gave Bucky four hundred dollars. Steve glared at Tony who only smiled. Bucky had no concept of money and he knew that.

"Thank you."

"You are welcome."

"Next up, the royal family."

"We all pitched in on this one." Okoye gave Bucky the gift. Bucky opened it, it was a note.

"Is?"

"It says that the White Wolf known as James Buchanan Barnes is hereby an honorary member of the Wakanda royal family. Aww, that's sweet." Steve rubbed Bucky's head. Bucky smiled and flapped his hands.

"Thank you."

"Also there is a hat with wolf ears. Natasha taught me how to crochet a hat." Bucky pulled out a little with wolf ears. Steve put it on him, it was ridiculously cute.

"Okay, this one is from your favorite uncle." Sam said handing him a box. Bucky unwrapped it to reveal the blue dog from Blue's Clues.

"Blue."

"Yeah, push that button on the guitar for a surprised." Bucky pushed the button, the dogs ears began to move as music played. Bucky smiled and pressed it again, this time the body moved. He really liked it.

"Okay, I guess Tony wants to go last." Steve said.

"No, I'll go because mine will be better than yours. Thor, some help please." Tony said, Thor nodded and followed. Now Steve was a bit worried. He ran through a hundred possibilities of what the present was but nothing could prepare him for seeing a giant teddy bear. It was life size, more like Thor size.

"Tony, where did you get that from?" Steve asked.

"I know people. You like it Buckster?" Bucky nodded. He got up and sat between the bears legs. "He loves it, everyone's else present is irrelevant." Tony cheered.

"Well, I have the final two presents that I think he will love." Steve got two presents. Bucky unwrapped the first one, it was tiles. "These are the same light tiles that you played with when we talked to Ms. Olivia." Bucky smiled and tapped on the tiles. "We'll set these up when we get home. Now I hope this present means as much to you as it does to me." This time it wasn't a box, it was just wrapped. Bucky unwrapped it, it was a drawing with three people, all of them looked like him. "Who is that?"

"James, Bucky, Winter." It was a hand drawn picture of James in his military hat and suit looking to the left, Winter in his Wakanda clothes looking to the right and Bucky in the middle smiling his usual adorable smile. They could tell the physical difference from James and the other two. James had short hair and that's probably how he remembered himself. Winter and Bucky looked the same.

"Which one is Bucky?" Peter asked.

"The one in the middle is Bucky. You can tell because his eyes are brighter and more curious." Steve said. Not to say Winter's eyes weren't bright but he held trauma in his eyes and that sort of just became Winter's personality. Dark and protective. "What do you think, Buck?"

"We love it." Bucky smiled.

"You drew this Rogers?" Nat asked.

"Yeah, I had a few sketches of all of them so I thought why not bring them all together in one picture. And there was a shop not to far from town that could make it bigger and frame it." Steve said.

"Who had the best present though, kid?" Tony asked.

"Daddy." Bucky hugged him. Tony went on a rant about how Bucky probably would have said that because Steve cares for him. But Steve knew to win Bucky over, you had to please the other two. Plus everyone knew Sam was Bucky's favorite uncle.

After all the presents was open, everyone talked around a bit. Everyone but Bucky who was asleep on the bear. Bucky was usually not one to go straight late in the day but considering he skipped nap time, it was well needed.

"He did so well today." Steve said.

"Well, we still have make sure he's okay with everyone leaving. Remember?" Nat said. Steve nodded, they didn't need a repeat of that.

"Can you guys help me get me the gifts in the truck?" Sam and Nat nodded. They got the toys and laid them in the truck.

"What are you going to do about the bear?" Sam laughed. Steve groaned and thought, no way was that huge thing going in the truck.

"I have two ratchet straps. Hopefully it'll stay on. Then I'm going to wrestle it up to his room."

"Why not leave it downstairs?" Nat asked.

"Chase. He'll chew on it and Bucky hates when he tries to play with his toys."

"So that's a no for more kids?" Sam laughed as Steve turned to him shocked. "Just kidding man, I know you got your hands full."

"Yeah, I do."

" _Mr. Rogers, your assistant is required._ " Friday said. Steve sighed and prayed that Bucky wasn't having a meltdown. The elevator opened to Steve seeing Bucky pacing around the kitchen island, arm flapping and head tossing.

"What happened?" Steve asked.

"Okay, it was partially Tony's fault because he dared us to touch Bucky's feet while he was asleep and he kicked Scott. He woke up and did that." Peter explained.

"Not true." Tony countered.

"True." Everyone said. Steve sighed, not a meltdown just not fully awake and he doesn't know where he is. But Steve wasn't sure how to deal with him, he's never had to wake Bucky up like this.

"Bucky, can you hear me?" Steve asked. Bucky whimpered, continuing to pace around the island. Steve gently got Bucky's hands, his eyes were sleep glazed. "Buck?" It was at that point that Steve began to wonder if Bucky's senses was just misfiring a bit from being awakened so abruptly. Sight and hearing was barely working. Taste and smell was an iffy possibility but touch seemed to be their best bet right now, he needed to be grounded by touch. Steve brought him to the couch and had him sit on the ground.

That was when Bucky's whining became more of a distressed whine. Steve needed to act fast to prevent a meltdown. He had Harley come over and lay on Bucky's legs. Steve rubbed Bucky's chest to add more pressure.

"We have an emergency weighted blanket if he needs it." Pepper said.

"No, he just needs to regain his senses a bit." Steve said. Then Bucky began humming a bit, a good sign. "Bucky, touch your doggie." It took a few minutes but Bucky petted Harley then began to fidget with her ears. "You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Good, I think you just got spooked. Do you want a piece of cake before we leave?"

"Yeah." Natasha got him another piece of cake. Steve sat at the kitchen island and sighed.

"Was that the infamous meltdown they warned us about?" Shuri asked.

"No, it was building up to a meltdown but his meltdowns are much more severe and it's not fun for anyone to see. And it's terrible for Bucky because he gets so overwhelmed that he just loses control of his body."

"There is no cure?"

"No, the only thing I can do is restrain him while he gets through it." Steve looked over at Bucky, he was finished with his cake. He looked at watch, they needed to go home. "Last year, he had meltdown on his birthday because everyone left and he didn't understand. So I am hoping that we can avoid it."

"I'll wrap up the cake for you." Nat said. Steve got up and crouched next to Bucky.

"Hey, the party is about to end in a few minutes so we need to start heading home."

"No."

"Bucky, it's okay. You know why?"

"No?"

"Because today was just Bucky's day and we all loved spending every minute with you. We don't want you to get upset that we have to go. They all love you so much, so it's okay that we can go."

"Miss them."

"They'll miss you too but we'll see them again." Bucky nodded. "Go give everyone a hug." Bucky gave everyone a hug. He wasn't happy, that much was apparent; but this was a huge step up from last year. "Thank you guys for coming here and spoiling him."

They all smiled and thanked him. Bucky, Steve and the dogs went down the elevator to garage with the giant bear. Steve tied down the bear on the top of the car then they drove home.

Once they arrived, Steve brought in most of the presents. The bear was just going to have to stay on the car for tonight. Steve and Bucky went upstairs while Chase and Harley ate their dinner.

Steve got Bucky in the shower and medicated. "I'll let you sleep here tonight." Bucky smiled and jumped in bed.

After everyone was settled and comfortable, they watched Moana again.

"Did you have a good day?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, Stevie. We love it." James said. Steve smiled at him.

"You're so old. You're 104."

"You are like one year younger than me so hush. That drawing you did, that was my favorite present. How did you do that?"

"You three have different eye expressions. You are more reserved but lively. Bucky is all of curiosity and brightness. Winter just struck me as the one who looked like a hunting wolf."

"You did good. I just hope he doesn't destroy it."

"He won't. I know he won't." They laid around watching movie until James fell asleep. Steve was proud of them today. No meltdowns, no tantrums just a peaceful day about them.

It was all Steve could hope for and more. He wasn't sure what he was going to do next year. Five year olds were peak toddler age. And he wasn't ready for that yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, here's what happening. I'm a bit behind on school work and it's taking it's toll on me. But I am okay. I am going to skip this Friday and possibly next friday depending on how things go with Falcon and Winter Soldier.


End file.
